New Realities

The G42 House on Calle San Sebastian is always bustling and teeming with interns and guests who are running around the house, laughing, cooking, working, and talking. It's rare that the house is ever empty or left alone to one person, but right now that's where I've found myself. The whole group, including some of the G42 staff members, has gone to hang out at a local pub, something I would normally love to do. All the G42 interns here are well aware of my enthusiasm for social events and have quickly learned how keen I am on getting out of the house, going new places, and meeting new people. However, tonight I had to decline the invitation to go be a social butterfly and be a part of all the excitement and interaction. Instead I decided to stay home and have some alone time.

So the house is quiet. And I'm enjoying sitting here and having the chance to reflect.

A lot has gone on in the last couple weeks. I think I've experienced a little bit of every emotion possible. After I got back from London, we had an incredible and intense week with a teacher from the U.S. named Ted Hanson. Ted is from Bellingham, Washington where he has founded House of Bread Ministry and a training school called the School of Eagles, both ministries in which he is currently involved. In addition, Ted is an apostle and a prophet and does much international travel and public speaking in order to train, activate, and release people into the future God has planned for them.

While he was here, he taught on New Covenant Realities - basically the differences between the old covenant God made with the Israelites and the new covenant that has been established through Jesus Christ. The way he taught was innovative and offered a brand new interpretation on things that I had never considered before. As a result, I found myself mentally and spiritually challenged every moment we were in class. Most of the interns left class every day overwhelmed by the amount of new information that we heard and exhausted by trying to keep up with Ted and understand it all, yet we still felt full and satisfied because we knew that we were retaining and understanding exactly what we needed to for the time being. Throughout that week, I frequently heard phrases along these things: "I have no idea what's going on, but my spirit is getting it and I'm feeling really good about what I am catching onto!"

Basically, we knew we were hearing truth and being changed, but our minds were being blown beyond our comprehension. All that to say, I can't really explain yet what I learned that week. I'm still processing it all, still trying to make sense of it, and still recognizing places that it has hit me in my life and seeing the changes it has caused in my mindset and actions. The good thing is, Ted is coming back next semester and we get another chance to soak up the wisdom and passion that are dripping off of him. That's gonna be another intense, but insanely good week.

The whole week that Ted was here, we had a group of seven people from England visiting to check out G42. I was also cooking dinner that week, so my afternoons were spent cooking and my evenings were spent making new friends :) 

cooking dinner

While cooking, I realized these important things:

              1. I like cooking (even when it's for 22 people!)

              2. I'm not that bad at cooking

              3. Cooking can actually be kind of fun

I know... not all that novel of thoughts, but they were quite revolutionary for me! I always hated cooking and thought I was never capable of doing it, but I actually found last week that not only can I do it, but I can do it without anxiety and stress and can actually have a decent result! Of course, it helps a whole bunch having AnnieRose, my cooking partner, working alongside me in the kitchen with her easygoing and peaceful demeanor, because we always figured out a way to deal with whatever went wrong... and it was never a big deal! 

setting out the yummy food!

I also had a ton of fun with all the English folks visiting, and spent lots of time discussing different English dialects, accents, and odd phrases. It was also really nice having some extra people to hang out with throughout the week. On Friday night after tapas, we all headed down to the local pub (the one where everyone is at now) and hung out there for a bit. When they kicked us out at closing time, we then relocated to the terrace at home where we could sit in the cool night air and look up at the stars. It was brilliant.

dinner with our English friends

Dave Hearn

In the midst of all the fun and excitement with visitors and the thought provoking times with Ted, we were assigned a vision project. I've known about this project since before I even arrived at G42, and I knew that it was going to be a lot of work and a big deal, but I was really looking forward to the day when I actually created it and completed it.

Basically, our vision projects are an opportunity for us to communicate to others what our passion is and what we want to do about it. As I've explained before, this can be anything from a business to a non-profit organization to a ministry - essentially something that we want to start and put into effect in order to share God's love with people around the world. 

Bec Hearn

We haven't presented our projects to each other yet, so I haven't seen or heard about everyone's vision specifics yet, although I know that there are some really cool ideas that have been thought up. During the moments when I wasn't racking my brain to make sense of Ted's life-changing wisdom, cooking dinner, or hanging out with new friends, I was spending time with Andrew or his daughter Bec and son-in-law Dave to try to refine and sharpen my vision. I had a general idea of where I wanted my focus to be, but I had a lot of options and wasn't sure how to narrow it down. A nice conversation with Bec over lunch helped open my eyes to where my heart and passion truly lie and almost instantly provided me with more direction and plans for the future. After recognizing where my heart is and what I want to do, I had a much easier time sitting down to complete my project.

The project itself is simply a five page magazine article that explains our vision and includes the problem, existing solutions, and what our solution to the problem is. Sounds simple, but there's a lot of heart and passion that go into this article, so I definitely took my time with it. I wrote several pages about the problem and how it needs to be fixed, and then I got to the end and suddenly realized I didn't have a concrete solution. Another visit over to Dave and Bec's house, and I walked away with a crystal clear idea for how to materialize my plan. 

the awesome Hearn family

Of course, the plan is flexible and subject to change over time as I grow in my vision and define it more specifically, but for now I have a good lead that will take me where I need to start, and then I can proceed from there. I am quite anxious and excited to share this project with you, as it expresses my heart and is the beginning of what might be something really big in my life. I have a few changes to make still, but be looking for my article to be posted in the next week or two so that you will be able to read it and hear about my vision!

In the meantime, I am going to get some rest and relax and enjoy the last few weeks of the semester!

Life at G42

As I was laying out on the beach this weekend, basking in the sunshine of the Costa del Sol and soaking up the spray of the Mediterranean, I suddenly realized the urgency of communicating what exactly I'm doing here in Spain. I know I've mentioned G42, but most of you are probably still pretty much in the dark as to what it is and what I'm doing and learning, so I'm hoping to shed some light on that today :)

First and foremost, G42 is a leadership academy for young adults (at 23, I'm the youngest one here) who are yearning to bring life and freedom to a world where we too often see poverty, destitution, and bondage reigning. God created the earth with the desire for his beloved creation - human beings - to fill it, subdue it, and bring LIFE. Our goal here at G42 is to share this abundant life of hope, joy, and excitement by building God's kingdom here on earth and acting as Christ's hands and feet to make dead things come alive and to restore the earth to what God originally intended it to be - full of life! This ambition may be worked out in a variety of ways in each of the interns' lives. For some, it will mean planting churches around the world. For others, it may mean starting a non-profit organization or ministry to provide help, love, and stability to troubled people. For others still, it might mean venturing into the corporate world or starting a business of their own to change their community from within. Whatever or wherever it may be that each person ends up, our goal at G42 is to equip and prepare ourselves to reach the potential of who God created us to be and to accomplish on earth the vision he put in each of our hearts!

We start by attending classes in a building down the road (the Epicentro) four days a week, Monday through Thursday. In the mornings, we begin class at 9:30 and go until 12:00 when we break for lunch. The interns all usually head back to our house to make lunch, nap, read, or hang out until 2:00 when we go back for our second session of class for the day. At 4:00, we finish and are free until dinner at 7:00. Dinner time is one of the best parts of the day, because all ten of the interns, plus whatever guests we have over for dinner that night, gather around our table out on the patio and eat, laugh, and chat for as long as we want. Dinner here is never a short affair, but rather we linger, take our time, and relish in good company and great food. While classes and teaching are important, G42 has recognized that some of the most influential times and conversations of our lives happen around the dinner table, amongst community and friends, so we make sure to enjoy and delight in these times.

Fridays are our cleaning and grocery days, and we all split up the chores around the house so that it gets cleaned at least once a week. Throughout the week, we are paired up with a partner (the same person for the whole semester) and assigned the nightly duties of cooking, taking out the trash, or doing dishes. Since we have four teams but only three tasks, that means each team gets one week a month off :) The cooking team always has the most work for the week, since they have to spend every evening cooking for 10-15 people, but preparations are made well in advance - the menu is planned out and the grocery shopping is completed on Friday morning - so things actually go quite smoothly. Most of us don't have much experience cooking for ourselves, let alone for fifteen people, but we enjoy the adventure and the learning experience, and somehow we always end up with delicious food on the table!

Dinners are every night of the week except Saturday (and sometimes Sunday), since most people are usually doing their own thing (which oftentimes involves the beach!). On Fridays the house has dinner together and then everyone involved with G42 comes over for tapas (Spanish tradition) around 8:00. That includes the founder of G42, Andrew Shearman, and his wife Mo, and all of the G42 staff and their families, plus whichever guest teachers may be in town for the week or whatever friends we may have invited that we met on various outings or in town. It's a great and relaxing time - everyone just gets together and hangs out on the terrace enjoying the tapas and drinks everyone has brought over.

 

As you can see from our schedule, we do have quite a bit of free time, but somehow living with 7 other people and being in Spain leaves me busy almost every minute of the day. In between and after classes, we spend lots of time hanging out with each other, reflecting on what we've learned, talking, watching movies, reading together, having dance parties, or wandering around Mijas. During the summer months here in Mijas, you can get tapas and a small drink at any restaurant for only 1.50 euro, so several nights of the week after dinner we hop from restaurant to restaurant to sample a little taste of everything. Some nights we'll worship together, some nights we'll play card games, some nights we'll work on assignments for class, and other nights everyone is in bed by 10:30 (except me of course!). On the weekends, we interns spend a lot of time catching up on life - contacting family members, writing blogs, responding to emails, journaling, and sleeping. When we've had enough time inside, we like to go out to nearby towns and find whatever festivals may be going on that weekend, go shopping, go dancing, and of course.... go to the beach!

Last week all the girls from the house took the bus down to Benalmadena, a town we hadn't been to before, and walked around near the beach. We found a company offering hour-long boat tours for only ten euros a person, so we all hopped on and sailed out onto the Mediterranean for the afternoon. It was such a beautiful day! We even got a chance to stop the boat and jump out into the water and swim around for a bit. The water was freezing, but it was totally worth it :) That may have been the farthest out I've ever been in the open water before! After our boat ride, we walked around a little more until we found a beach that was packed with people and staked a prime spot right in front of the waves. Three or four hours later, completely sunburned and waterlogged, we packed up our things and headed back home on the bus, exhausted but thrilled by our long sunny day at the beach.

Besides our awesome days soaking up the sun on the beach, we also spend a lot of time soaking up new information in class as well. Each week, we have a different teacher or guest speaker that comes in to share with us their stories, knowledge, and advice, gained from years of practical experience in their specialized fields. G42 is structured into four three-month semesters per year, starting in January, April, July, and October. The full program is six months long, or two semesters, and an intern can start at the beginning of any one of the terms. January and July are identical terms, focusing more on the business side of things and trying to build up our entrepreneurial skills. Likewise, the April and October terms are the same, really concentrating on personal spiritual growth and developing the vision that God has put in our hearts.

Andrew and Brook, one of the interns, playing a game of cornhole

Over the past three weeks that I've been here, we have had three different speakers, two of which live in Mijas and are full-time staff at G42. The first week, we were taught by Andrew Shearman, who introduced to us the basic vision and premise of G42. We talked about core values of G42, what God's point is for us on this earth, our inheritance as children of God, and what exactly the 42nd Generation is (be watching for a future blog on this). His teachings are radical and thought-provoking, and I left class every day overwhelmed by the all the new information I was taking in. He absolutely blew my mind with his interpretations and life-giving attitude, stretching me to think about things in a way I have never even thought of before.

For more information on Andrew (and David below), you can read their bios on G42's website here.

The next week, we had David Fredickz, originally from Holland, teach us on the topic of leadership. He started by discussing leadership roles within the church and then moved on to cover Christian leadership and servant leadership (flashback to my DBU days!), leading in difficult times, character, attitude, communication, and leadership development. We had several great discussions in class about each person's opinion on church structure and what works best, and we also got a chance to practice our public speaking and communication skills by giving a ten minute presentation in class on any subject of our choice.

This past week, we had a guest speaker named Steve Holmes come in from England. Steve is an entrepreneur in every sense of the word and has begun dozens of different businesses and organizations over the years, all for the betterment of his community. After pastoring a church for several years and starting a charity, Steve pursued a dream of bringing free dentistry to the people of his hometown in the East Midlands, England. Now, several years later, Genesis Enterprise Foundation offers everything from dentistry to a family and community center, a resource center, and a Hall that serves as an event venue, only to name a few. Steve was able to share his story with us and offer us advice and tips on how to present a business pitch or get going on starting our own business if that is something we desire to do. After two days of lecturing in class, we were split into groups and assigned a project: develop a plot of land that had been "donated" to us (all hypothetical) into a probable business plan and then present that plan to a panel of judges that would decide which of the three groups they wanted to support by offering grants, loans, and the opportunity to actually develop the property into our plan.

Needless to say, it was a slightly stressful day or two as each group worked to come up with a creative and unique plan that would be more likely than the other groups to receive an offer of a grant or loan (still hypothetical). Unfortunately, my group didn't win, but we all definitely learned a ton about what it takes to actually start up a successful business!

Next week, Andrew is teaching us again, and I'm really looking forward being challenged and stretched by his teachings once again.

Hopefully that gives you a little better idea of G42 and what I'm learning and doing here. I am so excited for how God is working in my life and heart and for where He is going to take me in this whole process. At the end of this semester, in September, we have to present a vision project of what we want to do to bring God's love to life on this earth. At the moment, I'm still pretty unsure what exactly I'm called to do and where I want to end up, but I know that as we seek to hear the voice of God speaking into our lives over the next few weeks and months, it is going to become more and more clear. After all, my vision is just a part of God's vision anyways, and there are so many different ways I can jump in and help it to come alive!

Benvenuti in Italia!

What a day!!

I do believe I have had my full Italian experience today.

I woke up fighting a sore throat, so I slept a little longer. I don't think long plane trips, jet lag, and being around kids all day is benefiting my immune system all that much.

Anyways, Zoila was working all day today, so I was scheduled to pick up Maria Vittoria from school at 12:30 again. I went out around town for a little while beforehand and explored some. I found a shop called Water and Soap and bought a few things there. After wandering around a bit, I found myself back in the main Piazza, where Aurelio's law firm is. Zoila had told me earlier that there was a cafe right underneath his office that had really good gelato, so of course, I went in to go get some :) I also grabbed a piece of pizza and some water, all for about 5 euros. I couldn't believe how cheap it all was. Gelato alone is like four bucks in the U.S.!

With a stomach full of pizza and my gelato in hand, I headed towards Maria Vittoria's school to pick her up. I was freezing (who eats ice cream in the middle of winter??) - and completely content. Pizza and gelato. Now that's what Italy is all about :)

And the day only gets better.

Maria Vittoria and I walked home from her school, only a couple blocks away. We headed into our apartment complex and got in the elevator. We live on the fourth floor, so I pressed the button, and up we went. Well.... up we sort of went....and then BUMP. The elevator shook and we stopped. Not on the fourth floor. Maria Vittoria starting balling and, to be honest, I was a little scared too. But you can't be scared when you're telling someone else not to be, so I had to suck it up and try to figure out what to do. We pressed the alarm button and called for help. I heard some people coming and Maria Vittoria was yelling to them through the door. I didn't have a clue where we were. I didn't know if we were on a floor or stuck in the middle or hanging by a thread about to plummet to the ground (maybe I've watched a little too much TV). Unfortunately, all the communication was in Italian, so I had no clue what was going on. One of the ladies helping us spoke a little English and directed me to "Up my hands and the iron." Yeah... not a clue...

So, a little yelling, a little crying, and a few minutes later, and we were bravely riding on up to the third floor where we were able to get out and set our feet on solid ground!

We caught our breath, waited for our hearts to stop racing, and then walked into the house. And there was poor Thea! The family's little miniature schnauzer had her face at the window as we walked in and Maria Vittoria yelled, "Thea! Thea's stuck in the fountain!" We ran outside to the wrap-around balcony to find poor little Thea shivering on her hind legs in about a foot of water, trapped in a small fountain on the side of the house. We rescued her, wondering how long she had been stuck in there for, and then dried her off with some towels and warmed her in some blankets.

Once we finally had everyone safe - Maria Vittoria, me, and little Thea - it was time to make lunch. Today was my turn to make lunch. I made the house favorite... you guessed it... pasta!

Now I don't think I've mentioned yet what Zoila's job is. She is an entrepreneur and has several business ideas that she's started. One of them is a company called Italy Loves to Cook. (Check out the website: www.italylovestocook.com. Doesn't the food look amazing??). She and a business partner hold cooking classes for travelers coming through the Umbria area. They work at a Villa in a nearby town and teach the delicious Italian technique and cuisine to anyone who wants to learn!

That being said, it's a little intimidating to try to cook Italian lunch for kids who are used to their mother's expert cooking. I kept thinking I was going to overcook the pasta or put too much sauce or who knows what... But when I gave Maria Vittoria her bowl and waited for the complaints, they never came! Success! Now, I clearly still have a long ways to go. I don't think I can really count pasta with a little red sauce as gourmet Italian food, but at least the children were happy! Zoila told me to expect lots of great recipes and dishes to come though, so I'm very much looking forward to all the delicious food I'll get to experience during my time here!

To sum up the rest of the afternoon, I spent a little time playing with Cesare before his nap. (If any of you are wondering, it is pronounced CHAY-sah-ray). While he was sleeping, Maria Vittoria got into my closet and decided to have a little fashion show in my high heels (I'll post pics once I get the chance to edit them). Later on in the evening, we surprised both of them with books that I brought from the U.S. Maria Vittoria got "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," which she seemed to really enjoy. Cesare got a Little Golden Book called "I'm a T-Rex," and I think it made his whole week. We've spent the last couple days playing with his book of dinosaur stickers. Every time he picks a sticker out, it's a T-Rex (and there are a LOT of different dinosaurs to choose from!). He really likes the big sharp teeth and the scary, mean faces they make. It's quite ironic that I just so happened to buy a book for him about his favorite subject right now! I don't think he put the book down for the rest of the night!

So that was most of my day today. Tomorrow is Saturday and is probably just as busy. But I'm always excited for the next adventure that is waiting for me!